Peace & Love...except in these places

...the Christians of the Iraqi city of Mosul are scared to put festive decorations outside their homes this year. Their ancestors settled here in the 1st century AD, yet as teacher Jamal Fadi has discovered, some of their Muslim neighbours want this Christmas to be their last. "A letter was delivered to my door with two bullets placed on top of it," said Mr Fadi, 32, standing watchfully in the neat garden of his two-storey villa. "It said: 'Leave, crusaders, or we will cut your heads off.' They want us to go from Mosul completely." More.

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Islamic fighters were in a tactical retreat Tuesday, a senior Islamic leader said, as government and Ethiopian troops advanced on three fronts in a decisive turn around in the battle for control of Somalia. Somalia's internationally backed government called on the Council of Islamic Courts to surrender and promised them amnesty if they lay down their weapons and stop opposing the government... More

ADDIS ABABA, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Ethiopian troops are advancing on the Somali capital, Mogadishu, and could seize it within 24-48 hours, Somalia's envoy to Ethiopia said on Tuesday.
"Ethiopian forces are on their way to Mogadishu. They are about 70 km (40 miles) away and it is possible they could capture it in the next 24 to 48 hours," Abdikarin Farah told reporters in the Ethiopian capital. More.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The US military on Tuesday reported the deaths of six soldiers in three separate roadside bomb attacks in Iraq. More.

Coordinated car bomb attacks in western Baghdad have killed at least 25 people and wounded 55+, a medical source at a Baghdad hospital says. More.

The head of Gaza's tiny Roman Catholic community on Sunday canceled Christmas eve's Midnight Mass celebration, citing recent Palestinian infighting between the rival Fatah and Hamas movements. Father Manuel Musallem said Christian children in Gaza are scared, especially after the three young sons of a Palestinian security officer were gunned down in broad daylight as they went to school two weeks ago. More.

"Muhammad had marched upon Mecca with an army of at least 10,000 soldiers. These men were tough, dedicated Muslims. The Meccan leaders did not think they could defeat Muhammad's army, so they surrendered to him. Muhammad did not destroy Mecca, or massacre it's inhabitants, but he remembered some of his personal enemies and ordered their execution. Muhammad hated some of these people only because they had mocked him years earlier." More.

+ 1 in 4 Saudi Wives Discarded by Husbands
+ Iran Promises UN Will 'Soon Regret' Nuclear Sanctions'
+ Palestinians Send Christmas Rockets into Israel
+ Shiites Fire on a Pakistani Funeral, Killing Four